Tech Friday: Tinkering with Apple Intelligence summary feature
Posted By RichC on November 8, 2024
Apple is finally rolling out the much ballyhooed Apple Intelligence on Apple devices … including my new iPhone 16 Pro Max. Their have been a few laughs from me when it comes to the AI “summary” feature generating a questionable summary (an automotive enthusiast John Rowe’s X.com comments – he does NOT recommend Sunbeam).
On the other hand, the “summary feature” was a bit more helpful … although too brief in my opinion … when summarizing emails.
My son Taylor relayed a long-winded email from work for my thoughts, and although I read the entire email, the summary was helpful. I do wish it could have been a “little” more detailed and perhaps highlighted a few more points. It is still interesting to see AI weaving its way into our everyday lives.
Apple Intelligence is a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) features designed to integrate into existing Apple apps and services, enhancing user experience and productivity. It’s a pragmatic approach to AI, leveraging generative models to improve upon existing features, rather than creating a standalone AI platform.
Key Features:
Writing Tools: AI-powered writing assistance for Mail, Messages, Pages, and Notifications, providing summaries, proofreading, and even composing messages based on content and tone prompts.
Image Generation: Custom emojis (Genmojis) and Image Playground, a standalone app generating visual content from text descriptions, usable in Messages, Keynote, or social media.
Siri Revamp: A redesigned Siri experience, integrated more deeply into Apple’s operating systems, offering onscreen awareness, contextual answers, and the ability to edit photos and insert them directly into text messages.
ChatGPT Integration: Supplementing Siri’s knowledge base and adding to Writing Tools, allowing users to access premium features, including unlimited queries, with a paid ChatGPT account.
Availability and Limitations:
Apple Intelligence is initially available with the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 updates, with a limited number of modern devices supported. The feature set will expand with future updates, including Genmoji and Image Playground in December (likely with iOS 18.2) and ChatGPT integration for Siri.
Privacy and Security:
Apple Intelligence processes data on-device, ensuring user privacy and security. The company maintains its commitment to protecting user information, unlike some other AI platforms that rely on cloud-based processing.
In Summary: Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI features designed to enhance user experience and productivity across Apple devices, leveraging generative models and on-device processing for privacy and security. It’s a unique approach to AI, focusing on practical applications rather than a standalone platform.
interesting … particularly as people started meeting each other online! 
